Ric Birch

Ric Birch, born 1945 in Sydney, Australia. Former Rock TV producer and director.

He started his career studying Law, but his lifetime profession took him down a different path. His career includes:

• Executive Director behind the Opening and Closing ceremonies for the Brisbane 1982 Commonwealth Games.
• Director of Entertainment at World Expo 88 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, during the Australian Bicentenary year.
• Director of Production for the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games
• Executive Producer for the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games
• Executive Producer and Director of Ceremonies for the Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

He partnered with Filmmaster Group to produce the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games. It was also his first time producing ceremonies for a Winter Olympic Games. He worked with Filmaster again for the Paralympics in Torino 2006.

He is regarded internationally as an expert on Olympic Games Ceremonies. He was appointed by BOCOG as an International Artistic Advisor for Creative Director Zhang Yimou in the production of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

In 2010 he will participate in the planning of celebrations to commemorate the 'Grito de Dolores' and the beginning of the Mexican war for independence from Spain. Mexican government is planning a ceremony to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Hidalgo's call for independence. The ceremony took place on 15 September 2010.

Ric Birch is the director and Founder of Spectak Productions, an events production company specializing in global ceremonies production, television, film & theatre and themed entertainment. Spectak has offices in Sydney, Los Angeles and Milan. Ric currently lives in Shanghai, China.